Walking with their heads held high in knee high boots, spandex and rhinestones, one musical has strutted its way across London's glittering West End, spending time at three different theatres, over 27 years. Mamma Mia! jumped from the Prince Edward, to the Prince of Wales and now to Novello, and as of 2024, became the fifth longest running show in West End History. Its lasting appeal continues to pull in the crowds, all delighted to enjoy the light-hearted fun, the fabulous c

Oh, the ordinary life of Buck Creek, wooden cabin village in the shadows of the Smokey mountains, all harvest moon celebrations, couples chosen and promised to each other by their parents and there’s silver in them there mountains. Quaint, simple, and oozing with superstition. There’s a rumour of strange magical beings in the mountains, and a story from long ago of a mountain man with magic and exceptional guitar skills coming into town. Barbara Allen (Lauren Jones) doesn’t w

Rachel Marron is a world famous popstar at the height of her fame, she's campaigning for an Oscar win, and everyone loves her. But there is someone out there lurking in the shadows who loves her too much, who is obsessed with her and when increasingly threatening letters begin to appear far too close to home, a bodyguard is brought in to protect Rachel and her young son Fletcher. Based on the 1992 film of the same title, The Bodyguard has taken the Whitney Houston led romance

Reading the stories of Roald Dahl is a rite of passage in childhood, and for most, these clever, adventurous and, at times, naughty, stories have a way of staying with you. The Twits could be lurking in a dark corner of your memory, the chocolate factory could linker and worm its way in like the rhymes of the Oompa Loompa's, and Matilda could spring to mind whenever you wander around a book shop. These characters are iconic and their stories have stood the test of time, and i

Little orphan Annie famously sings her heart out with 'The sun will come out tomorrow', and here we are in a heatwave where we can currently say with some certainty that the sun indeed will come out tomorrow. But the soaring temperatures have not put the stoppers on the UK Tour of the classic musical Annie, roaring into the Theatre Royal Plymouth and plunging us into Christmas time in New York City 1933. The city continues to feel the effects of the Stock Market crash, with t

‘It’s time to begin, now count me in’ If the last line of the show’s introduction isn’t enough to indicate what is about to happen, the neon shades of blue and pink and the energy that bounces in the show’s opening moments should throw you head first into the silliness and jukebox fun that is ‘Here and Now’, a musical putting the song stylings of Steps into the spotlight and milking it for all it is worth. Set in Better Best Bargains, a seaside supermarket, ‘Here and Now’

We all know the story of Ariel, perhaps better known as The Little Mermaid, and her wish to walk on land with the humans and to be with the handsome Prince Eric, but how well do we know the story of Ursula, the sea witch who made her wish come true, at a cost of course? Enter Unfortunate, the Untold Story of Ursula the Sea Witch, a loud proud big and bold musical that explores her tale from her school days through to tricking the young princess into giving up her voice. But p

Please Note - As the current cast only began performances on Monday 2nd February, the photographs in this review feature the previous cast. Written by the creators of South Park. That should act as your warning really, as South Park is known for being loud, naughty, and rude, pushing satire to the extreme and running with it as they say the things that others wouldn't dare to. So knowing all of that, you should walk into their popular musical The Book of Mormon, which has bee

A sailing from New York to London, with a stowaway, a nightclub singer, a gangster pretending to be a minister and a romance on the rocks, it could sound like the beginning of a bad joke but no, this is Anything Goes, a musical that combines the book writing of Guy Bolton and P.G Woodhouse with the music of Cole Porter, here performed by Exeter Footlights, the musical theatre society of the University of Exeter in their on campus theatre, the Northcott. Anything Goes tells th

Making a name for itself as the ideal London home for Disney musical spectaculars, the glistening winter of ‘Frozen’ has transformed into the blistering heat of ‘Hercules’ as the myth comes roaring to the stage complete with catchy tunes, powerhouse vocals and some wonderfully whimsical puppetry. Hercules (played at this performance by Felipe Bejarano) is the son of Zues and Hera (Joel Benjamin and Ellie Mitchell), loved and celebrated as a mighty god. That is until his unc

‘It’s 12 noon in London, 7am in Philadelphia, and around the world it’s time for Live Aid’ That was nearly exactly 40 years ago, when Live Aid took to the airwaves around the globe, two concerts on two continents, world famous music acts and millions watching either live or via their television screens. Perhaps one of the greatest concerts ever to take place, and it was all in aid of the famine of Ethiopia, the idea the brainchild of one Bob Geldof. And it is the story of L

Since its publication on this day in 1813, Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice has had countless stage and screen adaptations and has gained international recognition as one of the most famous love stories around. In today’s modern age, you may call it a will they, won’t they tale of mismatched lovers with its settings of grand country estates, beautiful period costuming and its tale of dropping one’s own pride and not being too judgemental of others. Over the years, its popula

Rodgers and Hammerstein, a double act famed for the role that they played in the world of musical theatre. Oklahoma! Carousel. The Sound of Music. Cinderella. South. Pacific. I could go and on, but I won’t. I just wanted to give you a taste of this team’s catalogue. These musicals are deemed classics, they are loved, adored the world over, timeless. And now out of a UK Tour, another R&H classic is once again charming audiences with its old school style, stunning costumes and

First things first, I would like to apologise if I get any cast names wrong in this review. At the performance I attended, the matinee on Wednesday 29th March, the electronic cast board in the theatre foyer was not working. We all know the story of The Wizard of Oz, the tale of Dorothy being transported to the magical land of Oz where she becomes friends with a scarecrow, a tin man and a cowardly Lion on an adventure to find the wizard, escape the wicked witch and ultimately

Please note the photos in this review are of the original cast, not the current cast It’s one of the hottest tickets in town, and perhaps one of the most talked about shows around. The theatre has had a massive makeover and the audiences continue to flock over a year after opening. This is Moulin Rouge, the musical, the spectacle, the experience; and I’m not over exaggerating when I say that there really isn’t anything else like it. You may shake your head and simply call it

Mischief Movie Night, Fleabag and Six. What do they all have in common? Well, these three massive hit shows all come from humble beginnings, getting their start in the world at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and now another success story has come barrelling out of its Fringe starting block to global popularity: The Choir of Man, which premiered at the festival in 2017. Featuring an all-male cast of talented vocalists, musicians and wordsmiths, The Choir of Man invites the audi

It’s a Disney classic and a family favourite, delighting all ages for many years and consistently raising the bar for the type of special effects that can be achieved in a live stage production. ‘Mary Poppins’, the world’s most magical nanny, with her technicolour adventures, fantastic stories, and mystical ways, has been a stage hit since 2004, enjoying London and New York success and popular tours. It swooped back into the West End, back into the Prince Edward Theatre in 20

These days jukebox musicals, seen as guaranteed crowd pleasers, are commonplace up and down the country, entertaining those visiting the glittering west end and sending audiences flocking to their regional theatres in their droves. These popular shows often rely heavily on a singer/group’s most well-known hits, the types of songs that have theatregoers proclaiming, ‘hey I know this one’ and sending them home with a tune stuck in their heads, but sometimes a show can deep dive

Images not of performances mentioned Over the years, the Edinburgh Fringe has become known for many things; street performers, mad dashes from venue to venue and comedy acts that are simply impossible to resist. Improv comedy has always proved a popular choice at the festival, and some theatre companies have become so well known for it that they are amongst the top choice to see at the fringe. And when it comes to inventing a show on the spot, you can’t go wrong with the Show

Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, Get Up, Stand Up: The Bob Marley Musical, The Cher Show, and Jersey Boys. It’s safe to say that musicals telling the stories of real-life music stars aren’t exactly in short supply, and you’d be forgiven for wondering if perhaps there wasn’t space for another but with so many music stars out there with a story to tell about what really happened behind the glamour of their careers, it’s not really surprising th